Guglielmo Marconi in London

(an historical guided tour)

Radio has changed this century and the way we all live and think. Just imagine what today's society would be like without radio: airplanes, ships, broadcasting, television, mobile telephones; they would all have problems. At the end of the last century Guglielmo Marconi helped us to achieve what we now take for granted.

Give a new meaning to your next London weekend: come and visit, by foot and Underground, the historical places that made wireless telegraphy at first and radio later on, possible. See the house where Marconi lived when he first came to London (1896), the place of his early experiments and first demonstrations, his first official broadcasting place in London (1922), the beginning of the BBC, the hotel where Marconi used to live and the office he used to rent. The tour, which costs Ł6.00, will last approximately three hours and will be conducted on a Saturday morning. For the next date please see the end of this page. If no date is shown please call (01273) 701650 to find out the next date.

Come to London and take some radio memories home with you. Bring a camera.

Note: The numbers refer to the enclosed map.

ITINERARY

(1) Meet at 10 o'clock sharp in front of the Underground station of Bayswater on the Circle and District Lines. It is also possible to alight at the nearby Queensway station on the Central Line.
(2) From Bayswater station we walk to 71, Hereford Road to look, from outside, at the house where Marconi lived in 1896 when he first came to live in London from his native town of Bologna (Italy). There is a commemorative plaque to the side of the front door.
(3) Back to the Underground station of Queensway where we take the train to
(4) St.Pauls station where in St. Martin's Le-Grand we have a look, from street level, at the roof of the former Post Office Headquarters building (now property of a Japanese company) where, the 27 July 1896, Marconi gave his first official wireless transmission demonstration to (Sir) William Preece, British Post Office Chief Engineer.
(5) We then walk by St.Paul's cathedral to arrive at Queen Victoria Street where the signals sent from the Post Office headquarters rooftop were received in another Post Office building there (Savings Bank).
(6) Then we walk up Fleet Street where many British newspapers had and have their offices. We pass by the Law Courts and Bush House (home of the Foreign Service of the BBC) to arrive at the building (called Marconi House at the time) where Marconi, in the Strand, set up 2LO the first commercial broadcasting station in London in 1922. In the same year the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) from this station on the top floor of this building wing, now property of Citibank, started the first regular, licensed, programmed and advertised broadcasting service in the world. There is a commemorative plaque outside the bulding.
(7) From there we walk along The Strand to arrive at Savoy Hill where London's BBC broadcasting station was moved in 1923. The building is now the headquarters of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE).
(8) From here we return to the Strand to see the Savoy Hotel where Marconi lived on and off for some time from 1901.
(9) We then go on along the Strand to reach John Adam Street where in the Adelphi House Marconi had an office (in 1908?).
(10) Then we make our way to the Underground station of Embankment where the tour ends. Victoria Station is only three stops away and Charing Cross station is right next door. There are plenty of fast food restaurants nearby.

This tour is an easy, by foot and train, guided visit to some of London's places which have an historic Marconi relevance and involves about 3 miles of easy walking. The group will have a maximum of 15 persons and every partecipant will receive a booklet with a list of the places visited (with photographs) and a description of the circumstances that make these places important in the history of Radio and Humanity. Those unable to come on the tour can have the booklet sent postpaid to their address in UK for Ł6.00 (Ł7.00 overseas).

As the tour will last about three hours it is advisable to come prepared and bring a snack if necessary. You are expected to have a valid London Transport ticket or pass. I have marked the public toilets on the accompanying map. There is also a brief stop (10 minutes) at the BBC shop in Bush House, Strand, where you can buy "transoceanic" radios, books, videos, tapes and accessories.

Next tour call (01273)701650. To book send Postal Order, postage stamps or cash for the amount of Ł6.00 to: Enrico Tedeschi, 54 Easthill Drive, Brighton, BN41 2FD, East Sussex, tel. (01273) 701650. See you there!

[ Back to the Marconi main page ] [ Back to the Home page ]

Enrico Tedeschi, enrico@Brighton-UK.com

Page maintained by webmaster@Brighton-UK.com